sbjdorlo: My son does love the south, but he did apply to schools in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. They just did not offer as much money as the southern schools did.
As for flights, there is a possibility that your student could have friends or roommates who come from Nashville or Birmingham, and you can book flights through those airports. I’ve flown into Birmingham several times, and it is a nice airport.
As for majors other than STEM, my son said that there are plenty of opportunities in the business department. In fact, the Dean of the College of Business told us during orientation that they have more internships than kids to fill them. Why? Because Boeing, NASA and other high tech places still need accountants, marketing and finance people.